Continuous renal replacement therapy

Acute renal failure refers to sudden deterioration in biochemical and physiological functioning of kidneys and often associated with multi organ failure. Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) holds special significance for the treatment of renal failure due to a variety of factors. It is believed that CRRT helps in restoration of acid-base imbalances and electrolyte abnormalities. Along with that, with gradual solute removal, it ensures haemodynamic stability and prevents the risk of cerebral oedema in neurosurgery patients. Besides this, several studies have supported that CRRT enables practitioners to adjust drug dosages and prevent drug accumulation and overdose. In addition, gradual removal of solutes and metabolic waste products helps to clear inflammatory mediators and ensure adequate nutrition for patients and lead to improved renal recovery. Therefore, this article will discuss the different treatment modalities that encompass CRRT and explore the indications and advantages of CRRT in acute renal failure

A Medical error: To disclose or not to disclose

Human error can occur in any profession. Medical errors are most commonly occurring errors in a health care system, which are responsible to delay patient’s recovery and produce harm to patient. However, being as a health care professional, it is the requirement of professional code of ethics to do well and not to harm our patients. Historically, many of these errors were not disclosed to patients but the trend is emerging for more open disclosure of medical errors to patients and their families. The aim of this paper is to explain medical error and analyze this concept in the light of ethical principles. The paper will discuss the role of medical professionals in the disclosure of medical errors integrating an explicit ethical decision making process named MORAL

Cubic B-spline collocation method for coupled system of ordinary differential equations with various boundary conditions

This paper is concerned with collocation approach using cubic B-spline to solve coupled system of boundary value problems with various boundary conditions. The collocation equations are methodically derived using cubic B splines, for problems with Dirichlet data and an iterative method with assured convergence is described to solve the resulting system of algebraic equations. Problems with Cauchy or mixed boundary condition have been converted into series of Dirichlet problems using the bisection method. Nonlinear problem is linearized using quasilinearization to be handled by our method. Fourth order equation is converted into a coupled second order equations and solved by the proposed method . Several illustrative examples are presented with their error norms and order of convergence.Publisher's Versio

Oral manifestations of vitamin D deficiency in children

Vitamin D is key to the musculoskeletal system. Its deficiency can arise from lack of exposure to sunlight and through dietary insufficiency. This can have an impact upon the oral health of an individual, including resulting in chronological hypoplasia enamel defects. Enamel hypoplasia is a quantitative defect in the enamel, presenting as pits, grooves, missing enamel or smaller teeth. The management of these defects can present a challenge to the dentist. This paper outlines the oral manifestations of vitamin D deficiency in the permanent dentition and the treatment modalities used in their management

Resolving ethical dilemma: An application of a theoretical model

Human error can occur in any profession. Medical errors most commonly occur in a health care system, which may delay patient’s recovery and produce harm to patients. However, when a medical error occurs, it is challenging to inform the incident to patients and their family. Health care professionals follow a professional code of ethics to do well and not harm patients. Historically, many of these errors were not disclosed to patients but the trend for more open disclosure of medical errors to patients and their families is a mutually beneficial and welcomed change

Impressions of Young Persons Wearing Hearing Aids and Eye Glasses

First impressions are formed quickly, within milliseconds of exposure. Eye glasses are quite common, yet they still affect how we perceive the faces of the people wearing them. While less common, a diagnosis requiring the use of a hearing aid is different than glasses because (1) acclimation to hearing aid input routinely requires adjustments to amplification, which may take months, and (2) stigma is an important underlying factor in the denial of hearing loss, resulting in refusal to wear a hearing aid for fear that it is perceived as a sign of disability. This survey of college students found that glasses and hearing aids do affect the impression one makes on others

Impression Formation of Persons Wearing Glasses or Hearing Aids: Gender Differences

An impression, does not have to accurately assess personality characteristics, but it will inform future encounters. This study sought to investigate whether males and females perceive persons wearing glasses or hearing aids differently and whether their own experiences affected those judgments. Data were collected via online survey. Females rated the male model wearing glasses as more Reliable and Provocative. Males found the female model more Fashionable and Good-looking in glasses. No significant differences were computed when impressions were compared between participants who wore glasses and those who did not. Regarding impressions of persons wearing hearing aids, male and female participants were in agreement with their impressions, rating both the male and female control model more favorably on three of the factors

Does physical activity have an impact on sickness absence? A review

Increasing levels of physical activity are proven to have a positive impact on physical health and mental well-being. Physical activity is also known to influence work-related outcomes such as reducing sickness absence. Sickness absence is a major public health problem with wide economic impact on society and there may be much to gain from physical activity interventions aimed at preventing long-term sickness absence. Examining the relationship between physical activity and sickness absence is therefore important as it may provide benefits to organisations globally. This article provides a review of the evidence on the relationship between physical activity and sickness absence among employees. A search of databases (Web of Science, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE and Google Scholar) and references of published studies (from inception to 14 November 2012) were conducted to identify intervention studies and observational studies involving employees. A total of 37 studies published between 1981 and 2012 met the inclusion criteria. Evidence from the review suggests that physical activity is effective in reducing sickness absence. However, the studies highlighted a number of methodological concerns, including lack of description of the physical activity programme in intervention studies and use of self-report physical activity in observational studies. We conclude that, overall, the available evidence provides limited support that physical activity is effective in reducing sickness absence, due to the low quality of many of these studies. Future research should provide more detailed descriptions of the physical activity programme and use more reliable objective measures of physical activity such as accelerometers and fitness tests

Non-nutritive sucking habits in a child: A clinical protocol to their prevention and management

Patients presenting with anterior open bites can be challenging to manage. This paper discusses the clinical features and aetiology of anterior open bites caused by non-nutritive sucking habits in a young child. It explores how these should be recognised and how certain interventions can be effective in their management. Whilst further high quality research is needed into the different methods and their effectiveness, the aim of the article is to provide a practical guide for general dental practitioners, orthodontists and paediatric dentists, who are involved in monitoring the developing dentitions of these patients